Brown found guilty of second-degree murder

Monday

Jul 14, 2014 at 11:27 AM

Andy Brown has been found guilty of second-degree murder and felony use of a firearm.

By Jef RietsmaJournal Correspondent

Andy Brown has been found guilty of second-degree murder and felony use of a firearm.After deliberating for three days, the 12-member jury returned its verdict shortly before 11:30 a.m. Monday.Members of the Brown family and murder victim David Locey’s family remained silent but were visibly emotional as bailiff Dena Clark read the jury’s verdicts.Prosecutor John McDonough was seeking a charge of first-degree murder, but said he could accept the charge to which the jury found Brown guilty.“Justice was served today for David Locey. He was murdered … I think it was premeditated but Mr. Brown will certainly be spending a long time in the Michigan Department of Corrections,” McDonough said. “As I did, the family hoped for first-degree murder, but they’re happy Mr. Brown is not going free today, that’s for sure.”Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman set Brown’s sentencing for 9 a.m. Aug. 29. Brown could face life in prison.McDonough said the Locey family did not care to make a statement. Likewise, Stutesman said members of the jury declined the opportunity to talk to the media.“I got the impression it was a traumatic, stressful case for them,” Stutesman said. Including deliberations, the trial took nine days to complete.Brown, 37, of Portage, has been in jail since the Oct. 2 murder of 70-year-old Locey at Locey’s Sherman Township office.McDonough had maintained that Brown was in a desperate state after clients for which he served as their accountant claimed their payments were embezzled by Brown.Defense attorney Michael Hills said Brown had no motive to murder Locey. He also disputed McDonough’s evidence of cell phone records and cell tower transmissions to pinpoint Brown in the immediate vicinity of Locey’s office at the time of the murder.Hills said he will begin the process of filing an appeal. “We’re obviously very disappointed with the verdict; I think Andy’s in shock right now,” Hills said. “It was a complicated case and there was a lot of evidence to go through, so I wasn’t surprised (the jury took as long as it did to deliberate).”McDonough, meanwhile, said the jury had a long and thoughtful deliberation, and he appreciates the time they took to contemplate their verdict. “It wasn’t the way I had hoped it would turn out, but a conviction of second-degree murder and felony firearms is better than an acquittal,” he said. “This has been the most emotional case of my life … David Locey has an incredible family, incredible friends and an incredible staff that have been nothing but gracious to us throughout the entire process.”Reflecting on the grief the Locey family has been through the past nine months, McDonough called them “amazing people.”“Things like this don’t happen to families like that, and that’s been one of the hardest things to deal with,” he said. “I could have seen all of them as being my brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, and it was very emotional talking to them. I just had a long conversation with them in my office, gave Cherie Locey a big hug in there … she’s a wonderful woman and didn’t deserve any of this to happen to her.”Throughout the trial, Locey’s family and friends wore orange articles of clothing as a salute to Locey, whose favorite color was orange.McDonough said he suspects a few of the jurors were struggling with the charge of first-degree murder and saw the charge of second-degree murder a compromise.“My gut tells me the majority of them were going to convict on first degree and they made a compromise, and it’s a compromise we’ll deal with,” McDonough said.McDonough called the conviction a team effort.“That’s the great thing about St. Joseph County … when things like this happen, everybody jumps together and works as a team to get things done,” he said. “Just because I had to stand up there in court and question people doesn’t mean that this was my case. This was our case, and my office and the crime task force did a tremendous job.”